Inspired by the 1993 film of the same name, “True Romance” tells the story of someone willing to break the law to prove their love for their partner-in-crime and live a Bonnie and Clyde-esque lifestyle with them.

Prior to being released as the second single from Dirt Femme, Tove Lo debuted the song live during a show at The Observatory in Santa Ana, CA on May 18. It was the first date of her 2022 US Spring tour and her first live show since the start of the pandemic. She introduced “True Romance” during “the crying part of the set” and referred to it as “quite a special one.”

Tove Lo continued performing the song throughout the rest of the tour, as well as another Dirt Femme track, “2 Die 4.” During her stop at Governors Ball in New York City on June 11, she spoke to NME and confirmed that “True Romance” was her next release, revealing it was coming “real soon.”

On June 16, Lo hinted on a social media post at a possible release on the Tuesday of the following week, and later on June 20 announced that “True Romance” would be released the next day. The song arrived with Dirt Femme’s pre-order.

Talking to LOS40 México about the album after a show in Guadalajara in late May, Tove Lo mentioned both “No One Dies From Love” and “True Romance” as her favorite songs on Dirt Femme, and described the latter as her “first real ballad.” She explained that in the past she had only made “slow songs.” Tove also called it “very bare and naked” and “very raw,” and “one of [her] best vocal performances […] in a long time.”